Before I found my gig as a regular freelance contributor for a small local paper, I was working as a high school English teacher who enjoyed some sporadic freelance work on the side. I also maintained a blog all about writing, and I had held one regular, paid (albeit small) role as a contributor on a dog-centric website for slightly over a year, but had recently given the role up as I felt the quality of the subject matter had declined, and I no longer felt stimulated by the material. The rest of my freelance work came in spurts. Sometimes, I had no work at all for several weeks. Other times, I was swamped with anywhere from two to five articles worth between $400 and $500 apiece.<\/p>\n
A few years before I began my freelance writing efforts, my neighbor and I had been running buddies. He would sometimes spend our run regaling me with stories of his time in Vietnam. Once, he even stopped by my house with a photo album full of images of him as a young soldier at war. When freelance work began to trickle in during the spring of 2016, I interviewed my neighbor about his experiences as a runner for an article. For another article, I interviewed him about his volunteer work at a local golf course.<\/p>\n
This past spring, my neighbor and I happened upon each other while I was out walking my dogs and he was out for a run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have another story idea for you!\u201d he said. \u201cVietnam.\u201d<\/p>\n
The topic was rather broad, and I didn\u2019t have an audience or publication in mind, but I told him I would think on it and research possible homes for his idea, as well as try to think of specific angles. Ultimately what fascinated me about my neighbor was the fact that if I had just seen him out running but never begun talking to him, I would never have guessed at his rich wartime experience. It made me think about all my other neighbors and their hidden stories. I knew so many people with so many stories just from walking my dogs and running around the community. Their lives fascinated me. I decided a sort of \u201csuperhero next door\u201d concept would be my angle. I knew our small town had a local paper whose offices were within walking distance of my home, and I figured that would be a fitting venue for my concept.<\/p>\n
Below is the e-mail I sent to the newspaper\u2019s generic e-mail address, pitching my idea.<\/p>\n
Hello!<\/p>\n
I am a local high school English teacher and freelance writer based out of City, Town, and was wondering whether\u00a0Newspaper Title<\/em>\u00a0ever accepted and published work by freelancers. My work has appeared in\u00a0The Richmond Times-Dispatch<\/em>,\u00a0The Christian Science Monitor,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Mother Earth Living,\u00a0<\/em>among other publications, both in print and online. Please visit my portfolio here:\u00a0https:\/\/amandasuecreasey.com\/publishedworks\/<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n
I am interested in writing about my neighbor, who has lived in City Name for decades. In particular, I want to focus on a story (or several–perhaps a series) about my neighbor’s wartime experience in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
His stories differ from other war stories I have heard, in that they focus more on his day-to-day experience than on the horrors of war. He’s told me about a middle-of-the-night attack when he dressed and was at the ready only to become more horrified by the large lizard hiding in his flak jacket than by the bullets whizzing around him.<\/p>\n
He’s told me about the pet otter he and his fellow soldiers took care of, as well as about their pet monkey.<\/p>\n
Because my neighbor, Larry, appears to be your normal, nice-old-man-next-door, people would never guess at his unique experiences. I believe running a feature story or two about him would open people’s eyes in many ways, providing a new perspective on people and on the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
As I write this, it occurs to me that the addition of a regular “Guy\/Girl Next Door” column in\u00a0The\u00a0Village\u00a0News\u00a0<\/em>seems the perfect fit for a local publication. It could profile the impressive, noteworthy achievements and experiences of the “normal” neighbors we see every day when we walk our dogs, get our mail, or stoop to pick our paper up out of the driveway–but actually know surprisingly little about.<\/p>\n
If you might be interested in either a story about my veteran neighbor or my column idea (or both!), I hope you will be in touch. I would love to discuss these ideas with your further.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Amanda S. Creasey<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The editor responded to my message within 24 hours in the following e-mail:<\/p>\n
Hello.<\/p>\n
I’m interested in a feature of the neighbor and tales of flak jackets and lizards. Lol sounds interesting. Maybe 400-500 words? We pay\u00a0$40\u00a0per story and ask that you provide one or two up close photos with each story. Maybe a pic of him with some war paraphernalia?<\/p>\n
We don’t pay our columnists so not sure if that interests you. However you could produce a guy\/girl next door stories once or twice a month for pay.<\/p>\n
We would pay once a month and just need a mailing address and phone number.<\/p>\n
Thanks,<\/p>\n
EDITOR\u2019S NAME<\/p>\n
Editor<\/p>\n
PS – – we design our paper on Mondays so story submissions should ideally come in by Friday morning. Of course we can hold a story for a week or two depending on space.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I responded in the following manner within five minutes (I was very excited):<\/p>\n
Hi, Mr. EDITOR.<\/p>\n
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.<\/p>\n
I would absolutely love to write a guy\/girl next door story once or twice a month for\u00a0Paper\u2019s Name–<\/em>beginning with my neighbor and his tales of lizards and flak jackets! I am not very confident that I could have it ready by tomorrow, but I am reasonably sure I could have it ready for you by next Friday, or at the very latest, the following Friday. Would that work for you?<\/p>\n
Thanks again!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The editor was comfortable with my response, and since then, I have continued writing between one and three articles a month for the paper at the $40 apiece price initially agreed upon, with checks coming via snail mail at the end of each month. I also continue to teach high school English and seek out other, less regular work, such as feature articles, blog posts, etc., in addition to maintaining my blog.<\/p>\n
Recently, I attended the James River Writers Annual Conference, and sat in on a panel about freelance writing. One of the panelists offered some advice that rings true for my experience: Start at home. Look for your stories at home, talk to people older than you are\u2014they have amazing stories to tell. They just need an audience. You can mine stories from your own backyard.<\/p>\n
In addition to starting small and starting at home, allowing my voice and writing ability to shine through in my pitch, I believe, was also helpful, as was including my other relevant writing jobs and clients.<\/p>\n
While this particular writing gig isn\u2019t going to afford me a life of luxury, I enjoy the steady flow of the work and a sense of fulfillment related to contributing to my community by helping people get to know each other, and being involved in our local, small-town paper. The gig also provides some welcome extra spending money to do what I love to do, anyway: talk to people, get to know my neighbors, and write.<\/p>\n
\nAmanda Sue Creasey is a high school English teacher, freelance writer, and dedicated dog mom based out of Chester, Virginia. She is a board member and contest chair for the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association<\/a>, co-chair of the James River Writers <\/a>2019 Writing Show, and member of the Poetry Society of Virginia<\/a>. She is also an aspiring novelist. Find her online at\u00a0Mind the Dog Writing Blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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